Stepladder



H. GRAF.

STEPLADDER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 10, 1920.

G raf Patented Nov. 15, 1921.

HUBER! IVI. GRAB, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

STEPLADDER.

Application filed September 10, 1920. Serial No; 409,402.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, HUBERT M. GRAF, a citizen of the United States, and resident of KansasCity, county of Jackson, State of Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful lmprovementin Stepladders, of which the following is a complete specification. 7

This invention relates to step ladders, and more especially to stepladders of that class employed by paper hangers and the like, and my object is to produce a stepladder provided with a vertically adjustable support or hanger for the support ofone end of a board to be used as a scaffold or platform by one or more workmen, the other end of the board being supported in any suitable manner either upon a stationary support or upon a duplicate of the stepladder.

Another object of the invention is to provide a folding stepladder provided with a from tl e top to within a steps height of the vertically adjustable support'for one endof the planlr or board, which automatically as sumes operative position when the stepladder is open and inoperative position when the stepladder is closed.

With the general object in view mentioned and others of a secondary character as hereinafter will appear, the invention consists in certain novel and useful features of construction and combinations of parts as hereinafter described and claimed, and in order that it may be fully understood reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a stepladder embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical section of the ladder taken in the plane indicated by the line H-II on Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on an enlarged scale, taken on the line Ill-J11 of Fig. 2. I

Fig. at is a-hoiiaontal'section on the same scale as Fig. 3, of the lower part of the plank supporting mechanism.

In the said drawing, 1 indicates the top of the stepladder, 2 the front legs thereof, and 3 the rear or pivoted legs adapted to swing to folded position against the front legs when the step ladder is not in use, as

customary. The. step ladder is preferably made wider than the ordinary stepladder and is provided with a partition between and parallel with the legs 2 and extending lower ends of'the legs 2, the lower end of said partition 4 being secured to a cross step 5 connecting'the legs 2 and constituting at one side of the partition, the bottom step of the ladder,6 indicating the intermediate steps between step 5 and the top, the intermediate steps extending from one of the legs 2 to partition 4. The legs 3 are also connected at a suitable point by a cross brace 7, and the opening of the stepladder is limited by a chain or cable 8, as customary in stepladders. The space between the other front leg of the ladder and the partition 4 is left unobstructed by steps for the accom medation of means for supporting one end of a plank to serve as a scaffold or platform between'a pair. of these step ladders or one of thesestepladders and any other suitable support.

Referring now to the board or plank supporting mechanism, 9 indicates a pair of sleeves secured respectively to the partitien i and the leg 2 having no connection with the steps 6, and pivotally suspended said tongues downwardly and outwardly sothat the openings shall be in effect ratchettooth shaped openings, the inclined sides of the openings being uppermost, as shown clearly by Fig. 2.

A slideframe 15 fits snugly between the strips 13 and is provided at its side edges with grooves slidably receiving or engaging the projecting edges of the strips 13, as shown most clearly by Fig; 3. The frame is provided with a horizontal partition 17 dividing it into a lower chamber 18 and an upper chamber or passage 19, said'partition and the top of the frame forming a journal for-,a'latch-operating shaft 20, provided with a handle 21 at its upper end by which it can be manipulated, the lower end of said shaft terminating in a threaded portion engaged by a'retaining nut 22 at the under side of the partition 17. I

The flattened or central portion 20 of the latchbperating shaft, isengaged at opposite sides by the hook-ends 23 of a pairof slidable latches 24, the outer ends of said latches being tapered at their upper sides so that when engaged with a pair of the openings 14, an upward pull on the .handle will draw the slide upward, the latches sliding inward to permit of this action, it being likewise understood that the latches will prevent downward movement of the slide until the latches have been withdrawn from engagement with said notches, and that the slide cannot be moved downward a greater distance than that between adjacent notches without first with-drawing the latches by grasping the said handle and turning the shaft so that its drawn through the sides of the frame. To

yieldingly advance the latch bars, they are provided with shoulders 27 and with expansive coil springs 28 which hear at their opposite ends against said shoulders and the pins 26. It will be understood that the springs will yield topermit the latch bars to be" withdrawn by turning movement of the shaft as above explained, or underthe force exerted by the inclined faces of notches i l on the beveled ends of the latch bars when the slide is pulled directly upward.

To maintain the slide-carryingbars in vertical position, especially when the same areused to support the end of a plank fitted through the opening 18 and resting on the lower portion of the slide, collapsible braces are employed. Adjacent their lower ends, the bars 10 are provided with channels 29 in their outer faces, and these channels are bridged by plates 30 secured to said bars and provided with slots 31 narrower than and communicating with the channels 29. Headed bolts 32 extend slidingly through the slots 31, and they are providedrwith heads or enlargements 33 for travel in the channels 29.

It will be noted that the partition l, and a corresponding partition 4* extending from the cross piece 7 of the rear legs to the top, stand in a vertical plane and hence diverge downward with respect to the adjacent legs 2 and 3 which are wider apart at the bottom than at the top and hence diverge downwardly, as shown most clearly by reference to Fig. 2, and that consequently, there is a wider space between the plane of the right hand legs 2 and 3 of the stepladder and the adjacent bar 10, than between the other bar 10 and the said bars 4 and M, and within said spaces are adapted to operate the folding braces hereinbefore mentioned. Two of said slightly below the plane of the opposite ends j of said braces, and thus acts to prevent collapse of the ladder until the joint is broken by sliding said bolt 32 upward. Atthe opposite side, a similar pair of braces 36 and 37 are pivotally connected to each other and to the other bolt 32 and to the adjacent legs 2 and 3 respectively, and these braces are preferably of somewhat greater length than the first named braces so that the bolts 32to which they are connected shall stand in a higher plane than the companion bolt 32, as shown most clearly by Fig. 2. Thebra'ces 36 and 37 also converge inwardly slightly by reason of the greater space between the planes of the legs 2 and 3 to which they are attached and the adjacent bars 10, this inward slope of said braces serving to stiffen the connection and act to guard against swinging movement to the'right of the bars 10. A pair of cross braces L are respectively secured diagonally of the rectangle formed by members ,1, 4 7 and 3 (see Fig. 1).

From .the above description, it is apparent that when the ladder is open, the parts as-' sume the position shown in Fig. 1, and that 'a slight pressure on one of the braces 3 l'or 35 will depress the pivot bolts thereof below the planes of their outer ends and thus lock the ladder against collapse,-and while said parts'are in this position, the slidable frame 15 can be disposedat the desired height and so secured by the engagement of the latch bars with a pair of the openings 14, and it will be noticed that by reason of the un0b structed opening between partition bar a and leg 2 and bar 4 and leg 3, a plank may he slid from either side through the opening 18 of the-frame, or the adjacent end of two planks may be fitted'in said opening in overlapped relation, so that the latter may be utilized a central support for a pair of planks. To close the ladder after the removal of the plank or planks, the joint between braces 34tand35 will be broken upward as herein-before explained and then the ladder may be collapsed by swinging the legs 3 toward the legs 2. In this action, the pivot'bolts 32 of-both sets of braces will slide upward in slots 29 and 31, and the ladder as a whole occupies no more room than an ordinary stepladder when folded.

As the various parts have been described in detail and their operation set forth, no

further recapitulation of'thepperation is deemed necessary, it being understood, how ever, that while I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of the invention,it is obvious that changes may be resorted to without departing from the principle of construction involved or from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A stepladder, having an opening at one side of its steps, a pair of bars pivotally suspended within said opening, foldable braces between the said bars and the frame of the stepladder, and a vertically adjustable slide on said bars. 7

2. A stepladder, having an opening at one side of its steps, a pair of bars pivotally suspended within said opening, foldable braces between the said bars and the frame of the stepladder, said braces having a fixed pivotal connection with the frame and a slidable pivotal connection with said bars, and a vertically adjustable slide on said bars.

3. A stepladder, having an opening at one side of its steps,a pair of bars pivotally suspended within said opening, foldable braces between the said bars and the frame of the stepladder, one set of the braces being shorter than the other set so that the pivotal point of connection between the short set and the suspended bars can pass below the plane of their connection with the frame and lock the suspended bars against swinging movement when the ladder is open, and a vertically adjustable slide on said bars.

4. A stepladder, having an opening at one side of its steps, a pair of bars pivotally suspended within said. opening, foldable braces between the said bars and the frame of the stepladder, one set of said braces being longer than the other set and converging inward from the said frame to their point of connection with the said suspended bars, and a vertically adjustable slide on said bars.

5. A stepladder, having an opening at one side of its steps, a pair of bars pivotally suspended within said opening, foldable braces between the said bars and the frame of the stepladder, a vertically adjustableslidc on said bars, and latch mechanism carried by said slide and adapted for engagement with said bars at predetermined points along thelr length.

6. A stepladder, having an opening at one side of its steps, a pair of bars pivotally sus pended within said opening, foldable braces between the said bars and the frame of the stepladder, a vertically adjustable slide on said bars, and latch mechanism carried by said slide and adapted for engagement with said bars at predetermined points along their length, and means carried by said slide for disengaging the latch mechanism from said bars to permit adjustment of said slide.

7. A stepladder, having an opening at one side of its steps, a pair of bars pivotally suspended within said opening, foldable braces between the said bars and the frame of the stepladder, a vertically adjustable slide on said bars, and latch mechanism carried by said slide and adapted for engagement with said bars at predetermined points along their length, and means carried by said slide for disengaging the latch mechanism from said bars to permit adjustment of said slide, and a rotatable handle for applying inward presssure on the latch mechanism to withdraw the same from engagement with said bars.

8. A stepladder, having an opening at one side of its steps, a pair of bars pivotally suspended within said opening, and provided with a series of openings along their length, metal strips secured to the inner faces of said bars and of greater width than thesame and provided with openings registering with the openings of said bars and with downwardly and outwardly sloping tongues fitting in the said openings of said bars, a slide fitting between the said bars and provlded at its side margins with grooves re ceiving the side edges of said metal strips, a pair of spring actuated beveled latches carried by said slide and projecting through the sides thereof and adapted for engagement with openings in said strips and bars, and means carried by the slide for effecting withdrawal movement of said latch bars.

9. A stepladder, having an opening at one side of its steps, a pair of bars pivotally suspended within said opening, foldable braces between said bars and the frame of the stepladder, a vertically adjustable slide fitting between and slidable on said bars and provided with an opening to receive the end of an object such as a plank, to be supported, spring actuated latches carried by said slide for engagement with said bars to secure the slide at the desired height, and means carried by the slide for effecting withdrawal movement of said latch bars. p

In testimony whereof, 1 hereto affix my signature.

HUBERT M. GRAF. 

